It's motive alone which gives character to the actions of men.
quote by Jean de la Bruyere
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Nip The Evil Intents
Oh Friend! To avoid shameful disgrace,
And earn favours in the Mighty Court,
Nip off the evil intents in the bud,
Lest they should assume the shape of words,
Which might take up the form of actions,
Actions become the character whole,
And the character bears instant catastrophe,
Bitter, painful and certainly tormenting.
poem by Muhammad Shanazar
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No one of good character leaves behind a wasted life — whether they die in obscurity or renown. "Character," wrote the 19th Century evangelist, Dwight Moody, "is what you are in the dark." Your character is not tested on occasions of public scrutiny or acclaim. It is not tested in moments when the object of your actions is the regard of another. Your character is what you are to yourself, not what you pretend to be to yourself or others. Although human beings often attempt self-delusion, we cannot forever hide the truth about ourselves from ourselves. It will make itself known to us by means of our conscience despite our most strenuous effort to suppress it.
quote by John McCain
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Watch your thoughts they become words. Watch your words they become actions. Watch your actions they become habits. Watch your habits they become character. Watch your character it becomes your destiny.
quote by Frank Outlaw
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Because impudence is a vice, it does not follow that modesty is a virtue; it is built upon shame, a passion in our nature, and may be either good or bad according to the actions performed from that motive.
quote by Bernard de Mandeville
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.
quote by Tyron Edwards
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Be Watchful
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny
But you can't do Nothing about your destiny
poem by Belinda Ntow
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Becoming Love
Looking for love.
Love from another.
One to fill my void.
A void that could not be filled.
The void was within myself.
Love has no criteria,
It has no agenda,
It has no motive,
Except to love.
It is void of expectation.
If I were to become it,
Then I could find it anytime.
For it would always be within me.
Our will, seeks to be loved.
God's will, asks us to become love.
Love, attracts love,
Like motive, attracts motive.
Love is for another,
Motive is for self.
You find what you are willing to share,
Or what you are willing to become.
At the end of our time,
The only thing that will remain,
Is the legacy of the love.
That we left behind.
What was given to us,
Goes back to heaven,
To be given back.
To those that remain.
poem by Ryan Lee Morris
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Every man should be considered as having a right to the character which he deserves; that is, to be spoken of according to his actions.
quote by James Mill
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In Answer To Pirandello's Question
if the character steps inside my room
i will perhaps choose the
character
honestly, i still don't have it
i mean,
character, not that character of
your play
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Mask, A White Lie
My customized protection
An initial accidental intent
Now, a practice with ease
A white lying
To anchor my mark of sanity
See the total spin off from my heart's harmony
What a touch of irony
As I hope another would see
This misrepresentation is not my character referencing
My deliberate array of communication
Blame on society an unfeeling pillar
Sometimes on own for self-inflicted torment
Regardless, its dramatic advantages brings my actions to a compulsion
And that,
This misrepresentation is not my character reference...
poem by Low Li Ling Jasmine
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Character
One should exert character,
For character exhibits your soul
And the soul has a murky appearance,
It decided to be mysterious
But not when you gain character.
The character is an infinity, a logic
For the soul to create, so it does.
My soul worked like yours,
Once it even behaved like a saint
Opening the life around, then virtues surround.
My character is to be a mathematical puzzle,
My character is grand, my grand puzzle.
I have been this achievement from that achievement.
poem by Naveed Akram
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Though a good motive cannot sanction a bad action, a bad motive will always vitiate a good action. In common and trivial matters we may act without motives, but in momentous ones the most careful deliberation is wisdom.
quote by W.M.L. Jay
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions.
Words For Taught
Food for thought and words for taught,
You stole while you smiled at me;
And your actions revealed your true character to me.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Now, there are a very large number of bodily movements, having their source in our nervous system, that do not possess the character of conscious actions.
quote by Wilhelm Wundt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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One will rarely err if extreme actions be ascribed to vanity, ordinary actions to habit, and mean actions to fear.
quote by Friedrich Nietzsche
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Actions Are Sentiments' Verity
Words are but mere lexicon, actions are sentiments' verity;
Where words may serve merely to confound, actions bring clarity;
Actions are the truth, to which words may only portend-
Actions make real, what was once only pretend.
Do not tell me, show me-then I will know;
Do not say you love me, allow the love you profess, to show!
Words tell a story of intentions, actions are their proof-
Do not express a desire for ardor, then remain aloof!
Would you believe I love you if I told you, or more if I show you! ?
After all we have been through, this proof is the least I owe you.
I utter no words before my actions are taken or readied-
I express no sentiment before my heart is inspired and steadied;
When I say 'I love you', it is affirmation of the actions I am willing to take;
When I say 'I love you', it is proof of the sacrifices I am willing to make!
poem by Maurice Harris
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But at the same time, the commonplace statement about them is true: every character is the hero of his own story. Each has a justification for his actions that is convincing to him. It's fun to give these people voices.
quote by Thomas Perry
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Thinking is the place where intelligent actions begin. We pause long enough to look more carefully at a situation, to see more of its character, to think about why it's happening, to notice how it's affecting us and others.
quote by Margaret J. Wheatley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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With A Motive Not To Be Provoked
There are people with a motive,
To be...
Left alone.
And many are to this committed.
Many are to this committed.
And there are people more devoted,
To keep their peace condoned.
And many are to this committed.
Many are to this committed.
To get away from all the alibis.
And those who live their lives making up lies.
With so many to this committed.
As if there's benefit in it.
To change what they say in a minute.
This limits and this diminishes.
This limits and this diminishes.
People have a motive,
To be...
Alone!
And doing this free without limits.
And doing this free without limits.
And doing this free without limits.
And doing this free without limits.
To get away from all the alibis.
And doing this free without limits.
And doing this free without limits.
And those who live their lives making up lies.
To change what they say in a minute.
And doing this free without limits.
And doing this free without limits.
There are people with a motive,
To be...
Left alone.
And many are to this committed.
Many are to this committed.
And doing this free without limits.
And doing this free without limits.
Doing this free without limits.
Doing this free without limits.
There are people with a motive,
To be...
Left alone.
And many are to this committed.
Many are to this committed.
And doing this free without limits.
Doing this free without limits.
With a motive not to be provoked!
And...
Many are to this committed.
Many are to this committed.
And doing this free without limits.
Doing this free without limits.
With a motive not to be provoked!
And...
Many are to this committed.
And...
Doing this free without limits.
And...
With a motive not to be provoked!
And...
Many are to this committed.
And...
Doing this free without limits.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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